Just bought 5 pure bred Chinese Silkies .... Need help!

foreverblessed · Aug 17, 2008

I just bought 1 Chinese silkie rooster and 4 hens. I bought these for my 10 yo daughters 11th birthday. I have never had silkies before and need to know as much info about how to care for them .... I do not think it is the same care that a simple plain chicken takes. I need to know, is there anything special or different I need to do when making their new home.

I will be picking them up next week after the 24th cause one of them has a job to finish, she is hatching out some quail eggs. Meanwhile I want to make a nice but simple place for them, we dont have a lot of money.

I have found some ideas from the differnt threads here but I need to know about the coop/pen. What do I do different or do I? I know I need to make everything lower but that is about all .....

I am finding it hard to find info on Chinese silkies. Any one have any links to where I can get good info on Silkies and/or Chinese silkies???

Thanks a million and God bless!
Laura

Break an Egg · Aug 17, 2008

Once a week for the first month you will want to give them chopped boiled egg.

Also, I've heard that you don't want to give them too much corn.

Mine are just like my other chickens, except they are more likely to get run off by the larger chickens.

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html has alot of info on silkies.

pixiechick · Aug 17, 2008

Is a Chinese silkie different than a regular silkie?

WisconsinChick · Aug 17, 2008

You shou;d always research BEFORE you buy...:|

silkieluver_07 · Aug 17, 2008

Are you sure that there not JAPENESE silkie bantams?????? As WisconsinChick said..... research befor you buy.

PurpleChicken · Aug 17, 2008

Most silkies live with regular standard chickens and do ok.

They are more prone to mites so get some DE for them.

The hens can eat a regular layer feed. Make sure they have
oyster shell available if they want it.

Silkies don't do as well in the heat so plenty of shade is important.

The hens will need a full manicure once a week and a good
bath twice a month. The roo will be ok with a monthly bath
and weekly brushings.

Heather J · Aug 18, 2008

How do you give a silkie a manicure? How do they like baths? Do you bring them into the house in the winter so they can completely dry in the warm? Sorry, there are a few details that seem to have passed me by in my research. If I use stall dry, do I need to buy DE too?

Ms. Lewis Rich · Aug 18, 2008

I would like to know what kind of a brush would be good for brushing?

silkiechicken · Aug 18, 2008

Chinese/Japanese Silkies are just silkies. It's origin is believed to be one of the two places, where their black skinned meat is used for medicinal soups. I keep my silkies just like any other chicken. Nothing special. If they have large crests, they can't see well so sometimes trimming it back helps them out. But that's about it. They live out with the rest year round, be it rain or shine.

PC is joking around (search for "evil silkies" and you'll see. LOL ) They don't need baths or manicures, but baths can keep their feathered feet clean and as long as they are on dirt or soil, they won't need any nail trimming. Treat them just like other chickens and they will be fine. Only thing different is they lack barbs on their feathers.

Food grade DE can be mixed with feed, so if you want to go that route, make sure you use 100% FOOD GRADE stuff as the pool versions are toxic. DE or stall dry will work on the ground no problem.

Oh, and you don't need to brush them. They are naturally puffy. A brush would probably damage their feathers.

foreverblessed · Aug 18, 2008

TO ....... TX STAR ....... PIXIECHIC ....... WISCONSINCHICK .......
SILKIELUVER ....... PURPLECHICKEN

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Hi Texas Star,
I will give them chopped boiled egg, I know they like it. I read but couldnt find the reason for this or anything about feeding them eggs and BOY have I been reading. lol!!! could you give me a link or an explanation for feeding them egg. I know they like it cause I have given them scrabble eggs as a treat before, but not in a long while. Are boiled eggs and the protein they possess something that is good for adult birds that are going thru
"relocation" stress??? These poor babies may be going thru more than that, if Fay heads our way. We are on w coast of FL.

I read the article about not giving them too much corn. I do not give my chickens corn or scratch since reading threads about it here on BYC. Just vegs and fruit, the ones that are still good but are too soft for us to eat.

It is good to know that Silkies arent that much different in care and are like my other chickens. I have 9, 6-11 mo pullets (just sold 6 pullets, in order to get Meg her silkies) and 1 11wk old EE cockeral .... There shouldnt be too much bullying, hopefully from these 9 young ladies. I will coop them separate to keep the new pretty girls safe and as stressfree as I can.

Tx Star thanks so much for the link to the brown egg blue egg site ... I will be going back there many times! Very helpful!

I was raised in W Tx. Granduated from TTU in '84! I loved Tx and missed it for YEARS!!!.

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Hi pixiechick,

I did my best to try to find this out. What I found I am not too sure is creditable, therefore I was asking here cause I think if someone gives an incorrect answer on BYC, someone else will post the correct and I can make my choice. Looking at pictures I found, I see two different looking Silkies, one with the foofoo and one with not so much foo. The woman selling me my 5 said these are not the fancy ones with the big foofoo head on them. I dont know the difference and really dont care if they have a foofoo or not! I want a nice chicken for my daughter who has been BEGGING for a silkie since early March when she saw one for the first time.

I will also have built in incubators for the Ameracauna eggs I want to buy from a breeder here on BYC in Oct/Nov-maybe sooner? .... hint, hint, hint! Please email me your info on your Ameracauna hatching eggs. I had a breeder picked out but he/they dont sell hatching eggs only day old chicks.

I have also read that a Silkie is a Silkie is a Silkie, just different colors? and names? ie Chinese silkie , Japanese Silkie and American Silkie are all the same. ????

Can anyone comment about this? I think I am not the only one here that is not 100% sure.

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Hi WisconsinChick,

What can I say? I tried, promise I tried, to find out what I thought was important ... differnet housing needs/ food needs / care needs etc. The only thing I found, I already knew! They need everything lower. I have found more since I posted this ... but ???? is it true?

I asked for help here on BYC because reading the different threads I have gained alot of knowledge that has changed my coop. I feel that people on here are genuine and very helpful, even or especially to the newbies!

My husband & I built the coop in late Feb. First week of March went and picked out 12 ready to lay hens and a RIR/Silkie mix roo, BEAUTIFUL Boy! (sold him with my pullets cause he didnt like my daughters... they messed with his girls too much & he acted like a good protective roo would! go figure.) 2 of the 12 turned out to be roo's, took them back and got 2 pullets and 3 more older pullets. Found BYC in June. Started the deep litter method and bought DE (perma-guard) got my local feed/hardware store to carry it NO more shipping cost! Shipping cost more than the DE! Then I saw the signature of PurpleChicken and thought "a Silkie EVIL" ??? naaah? I had heard only good things about silkies and of course my grandmother had one when I was young. SO I had to investigate .... so I had done enough research to know I want to get Meg a silkie and when I saw the ad for these .... well yes I jumped cause the price was EXACTLY what I sold my 6 pullets for! which I thought was a steal! A roo and 4 ladies!

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Hi Silkieluver_07,

You asked are you sure that they're not JAPENESE silkie bantams?????? No, not really, but they are a silkie!
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Hi PurpleChicken,

I have decided that my (daughters) silkies will live with regular chickens out in the yard and run only. I will build a nice coop their size. We did not build the coop for silkies. Everything is too high at least 2 ft or higher. We have left over materials from Feb and someone gave use some hardware cloth. So I just need to get a good idea of how best to build this. I have about a week before I get them.

Thanks to BYC I know what DE is and have a good supply of it now. I give it to the chickens in feed, it's in their coop litter, sprinkle in the dust bath area of the run and in egg yolks fed to my son's GoldenDoodle, Jake.

If I feed the premium Puriuna feed the bag says you do not need to suppliment with the oyster shell. Is it best, and should I ALLOW have it available to the hens reguardless of the type of feed or what the bag says? I mean they cant get "too" much? can they??

I live in Fl as do the silkies we are buying. The silkies most likely were hatched and raised here and are used to the heat here in FL. The coop is going to be inside of a horse stall with a fan to circulate the air and the run, well it is covered .... I guess 80-90% most of the day, they always have access to their coop, their feed and clean water.

WOW! Silkies are spoiled arent they??? The only thing I get more than them is a bath!!! LOL Weekly manicures! We just bought the Peticure for dogs and cats will this work for the silkies too?
It is a safe filing tool to help from hitting the quick. Works great.

The girls will LOVE helping me with the manicures and the baths & brushing mr Roo.

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This is long and it is late, please forgive any typo's ... and sorry it is so long.

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS LONG POST.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFO ABOUT SILKIES THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL ... PLEASE POST IT FOR ALL OF THE NEWBIES HERE !

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T H A N K Y O U ! ! !
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